Questioned by many inside Argentina and almost everyone outside, Sergio Romero can walk tall now.

The goalkeeper, who spent almost the whole of 2013-14 warming the bench at Monaco, making just three league and six French Cup appearances, was man of the match following the World Cup semi-final penalty shootout victory over the Netherlands.

Romero is nicknamed ‘Tiny’ because, at 6’4, he’s the shortest of a family of basketball-playing brothers

It was, quite clearly, an award for his performance in the shootout; although Romero had to hold a couple of long range attempts and punch away a couple of crosses, it’s difficult to remember him doing too much else in a very tight semi-final.

That’s a testament to Argentina’s work in defence, and also in a roundabout way to the threat Lionel Messi poses merely by being on the pitch.

But when he was needed, Romero – the man nicknamed ‘Tiny’ because, at 6’4″, he’s the shortest of a family of basketball-playing brothers – came up huge.

Elsewhere, Messi looked quiet, but still drew fouls and created a couple of fine chances for Argentina to win it in extra time, despite being surrounded by two or three orange shirts.

That made the job of Argentina’s defence easier in itself, and that defence – like Romero, singled out by many as a weak link before the tournament – dealt superbly with the twin threats of Arjen Robben and Robin van Persie.

The defence has come together superbly to prop up an attack which, perhaps a little too reliant on Messi and hampered by injuries throughout (Gonzalo Higuaín and Sergio Agüero weren’t fully fit to start with, the Manchester City man missed the quarter-final, and Ángel Di María was ruled out of the semi), has faltered.

And the result, as I type on Wednesday evening, is thousands upon thousands of fans flooding the streets of central Buenos Aires to celebrate the return to the final, 24 years after Diego Maradona dragged Carlos Bilardo’s side to the same stage in Italia ’90.

On that occasion, Argentina played a side still officially known as West Germany, albeit one which really represented the whole of the newly-reunified nation.

The dream of a final against Brazil might have gone up in smoke – much to Argentine fans’ delight – but Germany probably represent the opponents who were next on the list of ‘who Argentina would most like to beat,’ for historical reasons.

The last two finals – one won, one lost – that Argentina played were both against West Germany.

On Sunday, Argentina v Germany will become the most-played fixture in World Cup final history.

Now, if you’ll excuse me, I’m off out. I need a drink, and something tells me it make take me a while to elbow my way to the bar.